Veteran's Day 2015

Major Nathan H. Moran USAF with his wife, Ria, and their two sons.
August 1961, Japan.

Happy Thanksgiving from Moran Place

While we give thanks today for all of God's blessings we take time to reflect on our family members that have passed on.  This is Kent's father, Nathan "Bub" Moran, taken about 1981/82.  Thanksgiving was always a big event at Moran Place and even though Bub was ill, you can see he took his role of turkey carver seriously!  

Nathan Moran, The 1940's - Evenings at The Aragon and The Peabody Hotel

Since I've been scanning pictures I found in Bub's military folder I decided to go ahead and post a few more today.  Both are souvenirs from evenings out but only one is annotated and dated.

THE ARAGON-OCEAN PARK, CALIFORNIA

The Aragon was located at Lick Pier, in Ocean Park California.  The ballroom and pier were built in 1922 and opened in March 1942.  In 1942, the ballroom was renamed The Aragon and held Swing Shift Dances.  In 1951, Lawrence Welk and his band was booked for a four week engagement at The Aragon. Welk and his orchestra were so popular it turned into a ten-year engagement leading to a weekly show which was broadcast Saturday nights on ABC.  Soon after The Aragon declined in popularity.  In 1967 it became known as the Cheetah Club and hosted bands like The Doors and Pink Floyd.  In 1970 the building was destroyed by fire.

This picture was taken May 6, 1945.  Bub Moran is seated on the left.  The two ladies are:

Sgt Melba Hamilton 

C.W.A.C., (Canadian Women's Army Corps) 

R.C.C.S (Royal Canadian Corps of Signals) 

and 

S-1 Sergeant Jeannie McLean, 

Signal Corps, 

both of Vancouver Birks, British Columbia, Canada.

The fellow on the right is unknown.

THE PEABODY-MEMPHIS TENNESSEE

The second picture is undated and the occasion isn't documented but was taken in the early - mid 1940's.   

The only person we can identify is Bub Moran, first person on the left. 

The location was The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, the Skyway and Plantation Roof.   The original Peabody Hotel was built in 1869 at the corner of Main and Monroe.  It operated until 1923.  In 1925 a new Peabody Hotel was built on Union Avenue. The Skyway and Plantation Roof were added in 1939 and immediately became a hit with big band dances. The likes of Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo and Lawrence Welk (again) played at the Skyway.  The Peabody closed again in the 1970's due to economic and social factors of the area.  The Belz Corporation purchased the hotel and after a renovation that took six years to complete The Peabody reopened September 1, 1981.  It is still known as "The South's Grand Hotel." 

Nathan H. Moran, Air Force Commendation Medal

The big old Victorian home built by John W. Moran shouts to the world "Look at me!"  So it's ironic that most of the people that inhabited Moran Place were actually the opposite.  They were not into promoting themselves, their accomplishments, their philanthropy. 

Nathan H. Moran

They preferred to maintain what we call today a "low profile."  There were, of course, a few exceptions, James the third comes to mind. He did love to show off! But his son, Nathan (Bub), was by all accounts not that interested in family history or past accomplishments and the big old house that so many people love was just a house to him.

The back is engraved: For Military Merit
Nathan H. Moran

So in true Bub fashion he didn't bother to tell Kent that he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal,  It just wasn't in his nature to do what I suppose he thought was self-aggrandizement.   He left that for us to do for him.  :)

We don't know why he was awarded the commendation but it's on our list of things to find out.  

According to the Air Force Fact Sheet the medal was authorized by the Secretary of the Air Force in 1958 and was awarded "to members of the Armed Forces of the United States who, while serving in any capacity with the Air force after March 24, 1958, shall have distinguished themselves by meritorious achievement and service.  The degree of merit must be distinctive, though it need not be unique. Acts of courage which do not involve the voluntary risk of life required for the Soldier's Medal (or the Airman's Medal now authorized for the Air Force) may be considered for the AFCM."

  

Happy 95th Birthday, Nathan H. Moran

Bub Moran
age 16
1934

We couldn't let the date pass without acknowledging the birthday of Nathan Harrell Moran.  He was also known as Nate and Bub.  Born April 8, 1918, he was the middle child of James and Virginia Moran.  He was a rough and tumble kind of guy who enjoyed the outdoors, sports, mechanics, and the military.  He would be 95 years old today.  Feel free to stop by and leave a virtual flower on his memorial.

<---- here's a school picture from 1934 when he was 16 years old.  It's amazing how much our own son resembles his grandfather and on many occasions we refer to him as Bub too.

For more information and pictures about the life of Nathan check out his birthday blog from last year.

Charlie "Bear Creek" Speight

Not everything is 100 years old from Moran Place.  This clipping was in Nathan H. Moran's photograph book along with so many other juicy pictures of parades, classmates, graduation pictures, and more clippings.  But, I started with this one.

Kent tells me that Charlie Speight was also known as "Bear Creek" because the Speight family lived near Bear Creek stream in Weakley County.  He was one of the many friends of Nathan Moran. We think this might be Charles Askins Speight, the son of James Charles Speight and Ocie/Osie Akins.  If that is correct a search on ancestry.com shows Charlie was born in 1919 in Dresden and died in 1992 in North Carolina making him a contemporary of Nathan's.

Charlie was club president of the Men's Business Club of Dresden.  We don't know the date of the clipping but assume it's Late 1930's early 1940's.

Addendum

July 17, 2015

Further research tells us that he married Ailene Bejach.  At the time of his death in 1992 he was survived by his wife, daughters Patricia Speight Wilson and Judith Lynn Speight and a sister, Mae Speight Fisher.

Bub Moran with his Gun

Nathan "Bub" Moran and Kitty.  Dogs: unknown.  :)
Taken about 1923.

This is such a sweet picture and to be honest I looked at it several times before I even noticed he was holding a gun.  I think my mind didn't equate such a little boy with a gun so it focused on little boy in a wagon with puppies!  The woman in the hat is probably Kitty.  She was the longtime housekeeper/cook for the Moran's.